Akatsuki's Kage
by Tokumei Yurei
Summary: The girl was certainly strange. Soft pink hair and the clearest green eyes Deidara had ever seen. The small girl clung to him and depended on him so much. But Deidara didn't mind. Call him conceited, but he was quite content with how it was. Content with the girl with the shadow that looked only to him. (FIRST CHAPTER RE-WRITTEN).
1. Prologue

Full Summary:

Sakura would always follow Dei-chan. Sakura would always protect Dei-chan. She would even protect the strange men that had come for Dei-chan. Because Sakura believed that Dei-chan would need allies he could trust because one day, Sakura might not be able to protect Dei-chan anymore.

* * *

"If I win, you will join the Akatsuki." The black haired teen said, blankly. Deidara gritted his teeth. Who did these assholes think they were? Barging in and insulting his art then trying to coerce him into joining their crappy organization. What's more that they knew he was the one who had been bombing the anti-government groups. Not to mention…he grimaced. He needed to take care of things quickly and carefully before she got involved. By the looks of it, they hadn't sensed her yet, but few could. He stood from his seated position.

"Don't underestimate me or my art either. My ninjutsu is nothing short of true art, un!" He threw the spider he had molded at the cocky raven-haired bastard while sending a centipede into the floorboards. "Experience my art!" Deidara shouted. The man quickly jumped backwards. Deidara inwardly smirked. "Katsu!" The wall exploded while the bastard came out unharmed. _She's going to scold me_ … The centipede that he had sent into the floorboards suddenly burst from the floorboards and wrapped itself around the raven haired male. Deidara smirked. "Is that it, or are you really just all talk?" _It's over…_ "It's over, un!" He said, holding up his hand for the necessary hand seal. Then the man spoke for the first time since the start of the battle.

"Take a closer look at yourself," he said in that irritatingly calm tone. Deidara's eyes widened. Suddenly, it wasn't that man that was trapped by the centipede, but himself.

"What…?"

"Just in time." The man (fish?) said. "If we waited just a bit more, you would've blown yourself up."

"I told you this kid was the kind that dies young." The last figure commented from his spot next to the tall, blue-haired man. Deidara was still in shock.

"Genjutsu? When?" Just how long had he been played?

"From the start." The blue-haired man replied with an all too pleased look on his face. "From the first moment you looked into Itachi-san's Sharingan, you were caught in his genjutsu." Deidara gritted his teeth. 'Fuck…' he thought. The clay centipede dropped limply around him. But if he joined now, then she would avoid getting involved. No, he should do it before she got involved.

"Fine, I'll- "

"Dei-chan?" A small voice called from the arch behind the intruders. 'Well fuck.' Deidara cursed in surprise and panic, continuing to curse whatever kami existed in the world. The rest of the group jerked at the voice, turning backwards and leaping back a bit. Even the dark haired male seemed surprise at the sudden presence. There was...nobody there? Wait…All the Akatsuki members' eyes widened as their gazes lowered towards a small, pink haired girl who was looking at them with wide emerald eyes. Her long hair went down to her knees and she was wearing a simple rumpled kimono. She couldn't have been more than 7 years old. In a desperate attempt to draw their attention away from her, Deidara quickly molded bird and threw it at them.

"Katsu!" The bird exploded. Deidara lunged forward in an effort to grab the girl, but she was gone. Slowly the smoke from his explosion cleared, revealing the current situation.

"Now what **do** we have here?" The _fucking_ blue man held the small girl by the collar high above his head. Deidara gritted his teeth.

"Such a pretty little thing. She would make a nice puppet." The shortest member said with a spark of interest.

"Enough. We only came for the boy." The black haired man said softly as he jumped down from his position from the hole Deidara had previously created.

"Get…Your _**filthy fucking**_ hands off of her!" Deidara snarled as both hands dug into his clay, completely forgetting to censor his words in his rage. 'Crap… I can't attack them, or Sakura-chan will get hurt… What the hell am I supposed to do?' His eyes darted between the members. What should he do, what should he do?

"Ah…" everybody's attention snapped to the girl. "O…hayou, un." She yawned. Kisame blinked. Deidara nearly fell. Did she not understand the position she was in?

"Eh?" Kisame managed unintelligibly. This pink haired girl was in the presence of several dangerous S-class missing nin, not to mention being held up by one, and her only reaction was good morning?! It wasn't even morning anymore, it was almost night! And his face wasn't the most pleasant thing to look at, so why?! The girl simply stared at him.

"Hello mister. You're really tall. Can you put Sakura down now? Sakura is kind of running out of air." She said with a simple grin. She then looked around. "Ah…Dei-chan? Who are they? Why were they so loud? What's 'fucking'? Are they Dei-chan's friends? Is that why Dei-chan was being so loud? I didn't even know Dei-chan had friends! They're all wearing some sort of shady outfit… Does that mean they're part of a gang? But Dei-chan, you shouldn't join weird gangs! And you blew another hole in the wall! Kuro-nee's gonna be soooo mad at you! Un!" She practically rattled off in one breath, then stopped as she noticed the stares she was being given. "Ano… Is something wrong? Why is everybody looking at Sakura like that?" Deidara groaned. Trust poor Sakura to remain oblivious to the situation.

"Look here, kid. We're taking blondie over there to join our organization, so why don't you be a good girl and convince him to join our group, ne?" Kisame finally said after he regained his composure. He tightened his grip to get his point across to the blondie who emitted a growl at his treatment towards the girl. He could see that the blonde was obviously attached to this 'Sakura' girl he held, if his words or actions had anything to do about it. Convincing the blond now would be easy. He would probably join on the condition she was left out of it. But she had seen too much… They would probably have to erase her memories.

Deidara grimaced. He couldn't allow Sakura to get hurt. Maybe he could drop her off in another village? Perhaps Konoha or smaller village. He'd have to convince her it was the better somehow. Someplace safer than Iwa for sure. "Fine." Deidara said. "I'll join, but leave her alone." The severity of the situation made him forget his signature 'un'. The girl froze as she seemed to realize what was going on.

"You're…taking Dei-chan from Sakura?" Her eyes were hidden by her hair as she continued to speak. "Sakura won't separate from Dei-chan. Sakura won't allow it. I won't **let you take Dei-chan away from me!** " The rest of the Akatsuki members stiffened as her speech pattern changed and a dark menacing aura emanated from the girl. When Sakura looked up, her eyes were no longer the innocent emerald eyes from before. They were now slitted golden eyes that seemed to glow. **"I won't allow it."**

"Heh," Kisame smirked, although he could feel a drop of sweat from the pure malice that seemed to envelop the girl. His spare hand reached back and grabbed the hilt of his sword. His body froze, paralyzed and unable to move. Itachi's and Sasori's eyes narrowed. They had seen Kisame's shadow darken right before he had stopped moving. The dark shadow stretched and expanded like tentacles and shot towards Itachi and Sasori. 'The Nara clan?' Itachi thought suspiciously. They jumped back, dodging the black vines as they continued to follow them, even detaching itself off the ground. 'No, it's slightly different. There doesn't seem to be a limit!' Itachi realized. A shadow suddenly shot out from behind him and pierced him. He coughed out blood, right before he disappeared in a flock of crows. Meanwhile, the area where Kisame stood had black lines that began to surround him, all seeming to aim at him as the tips of the shadows poked out from the ground.

"Interesting. You're pretty good, for a brat." Kisame said with a smirk as he allowed his chakra to flare and the girl released a small gasp. The sheer amount he had released overpowered the girl's own, releasing him from her shadow's grip and causing the vines that had been chasing Sasori and Itachi to recoil. All of the shadows retracted back slowly, and Kisame's shadow turned back into original black hue. She was powerful, but she was still young.

"Sakura-chan!" Deidara cried out as the girl panted in exhaustion. There was no way she could beat three S-class missing nin, let alone one. She turned her head towards him. Shit, was she crying?

"Dei-chan don't leave Sakura, don't abandon Sakura. Don't leave Sakura…" she whimpered. "Sakura wants go with Dei-chan. For Dei-chan, Sakura will do anything. Sakura will follow Dei-chan… wherever he goes. So please, Dei-chan, please don't abandon Sakura." Sakura begged, seeming to realize that she might never see Deidara again. She turned her pleading eyes towards the rest of the Akatsuki. "Don't take Dei-chan away from Sakura. Take Sakura with Deidara, don't take Dei-chan!" Deidara sighed. The safe decision here would be to deny her, knock her out, and drop her off at some village. But he had never been one to deny her, and she'd probably decimate half if not all of any village he would leave her at. No, that wouldn't be safe at all then. She'd attract too much attention. She'd get caught. But was bringing her into an S-class organization any safer? Just the blue-skinned man by himself had been able to easily over whelm her, so he had no doubt the others were of the same level. Should he risk it? Deidara looked at her again. The same eyes as before.

' _Dei-chan…'_

Fuck it. He made a world of bad decisions. Regardless, he couldn't forgive himself if he allowed her to die or get hurt alone in the screwed up shinobi world. At the very least he could protect her if she was with him.

"I'll go with you," Sakura's eyes widened in panic, "On the condition the girl is allowed to come with me and remains unharmed." Deidara said slowly as if he was still unsure. The pink haired relaxed from her position in relief. Itachi's eyes narrowed.

"We will not allow a little girl to get in the way of-"

"Oh, loosen up, Itachi-san!" Kisame said as he loosened his grip on the girl. "She's pretty powerful at her age and has lots of potential. A few more years, and she can even join the group!" The pink haired girl nodded seeing her chance.

"Sakura wants to go with Dei-chan. Sakura will stay with Dei-chan." Sakura said firmly. Itachi felt a flicker of irritation. He was trying to help this girl, trying to save her from joining a criminal organization and being corrupted, yet she still insisted on sticking with the teen? Just what kind of connection did these two have? There was no way he would allow a young girl to join. No way.

Kisame just smirked as he dropped the girl. She landed gracefully on all fours before running over to tackle the blonde. She buried her head into his waist, murmuring over and over, "Don't leave, don't leave." Deidara hugged her back just as fiercely. "I won't." He said softly, warily eyeing the other people.

"Leader-sama won't be too pleased." Sasori spoke up, eyeing the girl.

"Who cares?" Kisame said with a grin. "This is bound to be interesting, don't you think, Itachi-san?" Itachi said nothing. Turning away and walking towards the entrance. No, he couldn't afford to blow his cover for one girl. Everything was for his brother, after all.

"Do as you please."

* * *

First story, so forgive any mistakes ^u^.

Naruto does not belong to me (or else Hinata would haved died and Neji would have lived).

The first part where they try to get Deidara to join was pretty much copied since I wanted it to follow the original story up to that point, so yup (is that allowed? I'm giving credit to Kishimoto, right?).

So please tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2: Sakura's name is Sakura

**A/N: For the sake of the story, lets say Akatsuki came to recruit Deidara in the morning around sunrise.**

 **Chapter 2:**

 _Somewhere between River Country and Earth Country..._

Sakura hummed, swinging her arm that was linked to Deidara as they headed towards Akatsuki's main base, ocassionally giggling when Deidara's tongue darted out to flick her hand. They had immediately left after they packed and it was currently nearly mid afternoon. Sakura had chosen to go in complete black along small dark cloak with the hood over her head to cover her eyes from the sun. She claimed that the sun wasn't to be trusted. The two from Iwa both were walking in the middle of the odd group, with Kisame and Itachi leading, and Sasori bringing up the rear. It was too much to ask for Deidara not to betray them at this point after all.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"..?" Sakura tugged on Deidara's hand. "Dei-chan, why is it so quiet, un?" Sakura whispered. Deidara sighed. How was he supposed to explain this?

"Sakura-chan… These people… Well… We're not exactly friends, un." Deidara rubbed his head sheepishly, not sure how to explain it to her.

"Then why can't you make make friends with them, Dei-chan? Like Sakura and Dei-chan?" Sakura watched him expectantly.

"It doesn't work like that, Sakura-chan, un." Deidara said with a small sigh, running his free hand through his hair. "Remember, it was hard for you to trust anybody besides me at first? Think about it like this. If you were introduced to somebody that wasn't Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, the Jiji, or me, and you were told to be friends with them, but you know they did evil things, would you be friends with them, un?"

"…" …He tried right? Probably wasn't the best analogy(if that could be considered an analogy at all) considering this was Sakura, but hey, he ranked had excelled on ninjutsu and application of chakra, not theory and all the boring stuff. Sakura's eyes however sparked in understanding.

"So does that means they, " Sakura's eyes widened in alarm as she waved her arm wildly in the direction of the Akatsuki's direction, "do bad things like…" Sakura stopped and pulled Deidara so she could whisper into his ear. "They do bad things like stealing candy and bullying people, right, un?" Deidara gaped. Akatsuki, stealing candy? Not where the conversation was supposed to go. Curse Kurotsuchi for tricking Sakura into thinking that stealing candy was the worst thing you could do. He stole her candy once or twice from her and this is what she does. And in his defense Kurotsuchi always left him with the bill at dango stalls! Sakura continued on, not seeming to notice his stunned expression. "Don't worry, Sakura will be fine, Dei-chan! Dei-chan steals candy, but Sakura thinks Dei-chan is a good person, un! Sakura will make sure they stop stealing candy and being mean to people because Sakura is a good girl!"

"Er…. I wouldn't say, stealing candy, Sakura-chan, un. But beating up and killing people, definitely." Deidara's voice dropped into a low mutter at the last part. _'Making members of a criminal organization into good guys, huh.'_ Sakura released his hand and ran forwad and faced Deidara.

"Sakura can make them good, right Dei-chan? And then Sakura can be friends with them, and then Dei-chan can finally have friends! Besides, Sakura is all better thanks to Dei-chan and much more confa-, confident thanks to Kuro-nee so Sakura can talk to people that are taller than Sakura, now! Un!" Sakura cheered, and before Deidara could stop her, she dashed ahead to the raven haired male and tall blue man that were walking up front, following some logic only she could understand.

"Wait! Sakura-chan, un! It doesn't work like that!" Deidara groaned and got ready to chase after her. ' _I did too have friends._ ' Deidara sulked inwardly.

"Tough luck, brat. The Ningyo will probably get herself killed with that mindset, particularly in our organization. If she doesn't get that this world isn't all flower and rainbows out of her head, then sooner or later, she _**will**_ be killed. If it's not one of the members, then it will be another shinobi for sure. However, her death could prove beneficial for me. I wouldn't mind turning her into a puppet with her ability, and her beauty will be preserved for all to see." Sasori commented from behind Deidara.

 _'But I highly doubt she believes the world_ is _flowers and rainbows. And she's not one so easy to kill either.'_ Deidara thought absently, snickering at the puppet master's use of 'flowers and rainbows'. After a few moments, Deidara finally soaked in the rest of Sasori's dialogue and his temper flared.

"Hah?! No way! No way will I allow Sakura-chan to get killed and there's absolutely no way she's being turned into a puppet, un! If she's going to go out, she'll go with a bang! After all, the only beauty in this world can be appreciated because it's so fleeting, un." Deidara replied hotly, completely forgetting about his previous train of thought in his conviction to teach this idiot about true art. "And don't call her doll! You creep!"

"That's a foolish belief. Art is eternal, something that withstands the passages of time, forever preserved and beautiful. Besides, Ningyo fits her." Deidara felt a vein pop.

"Stay away from her, Pedophile! Besides, your idea of art is stupid. Nothing lasts, and art can only be appreciated because it's so fleeting, un. Nothing is eternal!" Deidara ranted, and Sasori felt a twinge of irritation in his heart.

"You…brat! Young fools like you don't know what true art is!"

"I know what true art is, and it ain't your stupid dollies, un!"

…

Kisame nearly jumped when a felt a sudden tug on his sleeve. The small girl the blondie had brought was grinning from underneath her hood, giving him a small wave. Where had she even come from? He hadn't heard anything, or even felt anything! The widening of his partner's eyes said that his partner hadn't either. This had happened back at the temple, and again now?

"Hello, mister? Did Sakura scare Mister? Sakura is sorry! Don't be mad at Sakura. Sakura didn't mean anything bad!" The girl spoke quickly, breaking Kisame out of his trance.

"You didn't scare…ugh... What do you want brat?"

"Sakura wants to be Mister's friend, un! But Dei-chan says you're bad people and you steal candy and stuff, but Sakura still wants to be friends with Mister because Mister looks cool and then Mister can be friends with Dei-chan because Dei-chan doesn't have lots of friends, except Sakura and Sakura can't protect Dei-chan all the time because Dei-chan says it's too dangerous for Sakura and sometimes Dei-chan leaves Sakura alone for sooo long and Sakura doesn't have that many friends either and it's so scary without Dei-chan, un!" Sakura took in a deep breath. "So can Mister and Sakura be friends? Cuz the really strange thingy with Dei-chan is sort of scary and red-eye Mister doesn't talk at all so can Mister be Sakura's friend, un?" She looked up at Kisame, who was towering over her.

Was there something wrong with this brat? He was an S-class missing nin. A scary one at that. And scary S-class missing nin don't make 'friends'. Sure Sasori might be creepy, but he was pretty sure Itachi was easier to approach then him. And what was this about stealing candy? He glanced at his partner who wasn't even looking at him. Traitor.

"Brat… I'm not friends with anybody. Do you know what I do?" Kisame asked. Sakura shook her head and Itachi gave him a warning glance. "I **kill** people. I rip them in shreds and cut off their limbs, got it?" The pink haired girl's mouth widened in an 'o' shape. Kisame nodded, satisfied that the pink haired girl would now leave him alone.

"Sakura kills people, too! That means Sakura and Mister can be best, best friends! Dei-chan is Sakura's best, best, best friends, but Mister can be Sakura's best, best friend!" The girl said happily as she skipped next to Kisame.

Itachi and Kisame both stopped walking. Deidara and Sasori who were not that far behind them seemed to notice the sudden pause and slowed to a stop. Sakura turned around. She cocked her head to the side. "Did Sakura say something?" Kill? **Kills?**

"What did you say now… Sakura-chan, un?" Deidara said as he walked past Itachi and Kisame to crouch next to the girl.

"Sakura said Sakura kills lots of people, un! Right Dei-chan? Cause Sakura is super strong and bad masks can't beat Sakura~ But Mister was really strong because Mister was able to break Kage-chan... and Kage-chan's really strong..." Sakura was now aware that everybody seemed to be staring at her.

"Sakura-chan, that's not something that you really tell everybody, un. Actually, it would be better if you never said that all. And remember Kage-chan is something just between us, alright?" Deidara asked. Sakura lowered her head in shame.

"Sakura is sorry, Dei-chan. Sakura promises to keep Kage-chan a secret too." She said solemnly.

"Atta girl, Sakura-chan, un," Deidara said ruffling her hair under the hood. Sakura pouted, yanking her hood before it completely fell while trying to fix her now messy hair.

"Dei-chan, don't mess up Sakura's hair, un! Dei-chan you meanie!" Deidara merely grinned in response. Deidara seemed to abruptly remember his forgotten travel companions who were all staring at him. His grin fell and he coughed awkwardly.

"What are you staring at, un? You have a problem?" Deidara said defensively.

"No problem at all," Kisame said with a smirk. Itachi sighed.

"Get a move on or we'll be late. I hate making people wait." Sasori said, although the rest of them could hear anger start lacing his words.

"Then can we ride Dei-chan's Tori-chan? Tori-chan's real fast and Sakura loves riding on Tori-chan, un!" Sakura spoke up.

"Tori-chan?" Kisame questioned. Sakura nodded her head eagerly.

"Dei-chan can make Tori-chans and Fukuro-chans and Taka-chans and they all get big like poof and then later they go like boom and it's so cool! Art is a bang, un!" Sakura said, jumping up and down in excitement.

"…"

"She's been corrupted." Sasori said with distaste. "Listen up, Ningyo. Art is eternal, something that lasts through the ages."

"Don't _you_ go corrupt her with _your_ stupid beliefs, un! Sakura-chan, don't listen to the short freak over there! Art is a bang!" Itachi finally spoke up in his smooth voice.

"If we want to make it River Country sometime tomorrow, I suggest we start moving, today." While for the most part, Itachi's tone was blank, but Kisame believed that he knew his partner enough that he was displeased with their progress. Sakura perked. Fast transport? She stood on her tip toes to whisper into Deidara's ears. Deidara shook his head.

"Sakura-chan, that isn't necessary, un. Keep it a secret, got it?" Sakura nodded. Before turning her thoughts back on the prospect of flying there.

"So can Sakura ride Tori-chan? Can Sakura?" Sakura said eagerly. Deidara sighed. It certainly would be faster. But the bastards probably wouldn't trust him to not blow them out of the sky first chance he got, which wasn't what Deidara could consider a bad idea. He stood up and faced the rest of the Akatsuki members.

"Sakura-chan wants me to create clay birds for us to get to River Country. It'd be a whole lot faster than… walking." Deidara forced out somewhat pleasantly. He had to try for Sakura after all.

"The chances of you blowing us up for your 'art' are too high," Sasori said. "There's no guarantee you'll arrive there in one piece, brat."

"Wait, me?! Are you saying _**I'm**_ the one that's not going to-" Deidara started, getting ready to pummel the ugly thing that kept on insulting him.

"Dei-chan won't do that! Right Dei-chan? So can we just go to River Cont-Count-ry on Tori-chan already? Sakura really wants to ride Tori-chan!" Sakura whined. She hated walking for so long, and she was tired. As much as she liked walking in the outside world, this was the first time she had been out in the day for so long. "Sakura will ride with Mister so that Dei-chan will absolutely not blow up Tori-chan before we get there so, can Sakura and everybody just pleaaaase ride Tori-chan?"

"How annoying," Sasori grunted.

Itachi thought it over before reluctantly nodding his head in agreement. He doubted the blonde would try to blow them up when it put the girl in danger. And e would hate to be late. Even if he wasn't Sasori, he liked to be on time, if not a little earlier. Not to mention an irritated Sasori was not a safe Sasori to be around.

"No! Absolutely, no way, Sakura-chan! There's no way I'm letting you ride with any of these weirdos!" Deidara ranted.

"But Dei-chan! Kage-chan can protect Sakura, and Sakura will always protect Dei-chan, so Dei-chan doesn't need to worry. Besides, Mister seems really nice, un! Kage-chan didn't kill Mister when Mister lifted Sakura real high so Mister must be a good guy, right? Oops, Sakura mentioned Kage-chan... But still!" Dediara stared at her, and Sakura stared right back at him with unblinking eyes.

* * *

Deidara watched the bird in front of them like a hawk. How did this happen? Why the fuck was he stuck with the puppet bastard while his Sakura-chan was riding with shark and the red-eyed bastard? If they even tried to hurt her… He was confident he could detonate the bird and Sakura's 'Kage-chan' would protect her, but he decided that wasn't the best plan of action since he didn't think Kage-chan would give Sakura the ability to fly. He could always swoop in and catch her...

"Stupid brat."

…

The wind whipped at the black hood that covered Sakura's face, nearly yanking it off. But Sakura didn't mind. Sakura was ecstatic. She always loved when Dei-chan made his pretty Tori-chan for them to fly on. Flying felt free. Flying felt like being invincible. She gleefully looked over the side of the bird as she watched the forests go by and small villages being passed in less than minutes. At this rate, they would reach River Country before the sun set.

"Sakura, is it?" Sakura nearly fell over in her surprise as the blue-haired Akatsuki member spoke from his sitting position from behind her.

"Whoa… Sugoi! How did Mister know Sakura's name? Is Mister a magician?" Sakura seemed genuinely shocked. Kisame chuckled a bit. Magician? Nope. Shinobi? Yes.

"I'm a missing nin. You pick up on things when you're constantly watching your back. And the name's not Mister. It's Kisame, brat." Sakura smiled happily.

"So Mister, er, Ki-sa-me, really is a shark!" Kisame raised an eyebrow.

"I guess."

"What about Same-chan's sword?" _Same…-chan?_

"My… sword?" Sakura nodded, and impatiently waved towards the bandaged sword.

"Same-chan's sword gives off same energy thingy as Same-chan, but it's kind of different. So Same-chan's sword must be alive too and Sakura thinks Same-chan's sword must have a really cool name like Same-chan!" Kisame smirked. So she could sense chakra?

"It's Samehada." Sakura seemed to take this in. She was quiet for a while. "..?"

"Kisame, Samehada. Both have 'Same', un." Sakura muttered. "That means Same-chan and Same-chan were meant for each other! Wait, no! That's too hard! Then Same-chan and Same-chan would have the same name!" Sakura said, holding her head in her hands as if the revelation was too great for her. Kisame blinked. He had never thought about it or noticed it before.

"Heh... Whatever midget." Kisame mused. He was right. Things were bound to get interesting with her around in the Akatsuki. That is assuming she would come out alive when the rest of the members discovered a pink haired girl in their midst.

* * *

Ningyo- doll

Tori- bird

Fukuro- owl

Taka- hawk

Kisame- demon shark

Samehada- shark skin

Kage- shadow

And done~!

I really like incorporating Japanese into the writings so I hope you like it :).

Please review and give me suggestions and whether or not you like it since I'm still new at this~

(Also, it wouldn't hurt to have a second opinion on these things before I publish them so message me if you can kind of help me in this? A beta is it? I'm not sure if it's necessary but I'm paranoid.)

Also, I plan to incorporate Tobi into this, but I'm not sure if I should write him speaking the 3rd person style like Sakura (I know a lot of writers do this), or stick to the orginial Canon as close as possible and write normally(?) for Tobi. I personally like 3rd person but I don't think I'd mind writing him following the canon. Tell me what you think?

~Tokumei Yurei


	3. Chapter 3: You're not a tool

At the request of an anonymous guest (thank you guest), Tobi will be speaking like Sakura. Also, Orochimaru is still in Akatsuki. Let's say the reason Sasori needed a new partner was because Orochimaru was paired up with Zetsu after he and Sasori couldn't stand each other. This chapter was pretty sloppily written since I wasn't sure how to potray it properly.

* * *

Chapter 3:

…

 _River Country_

…

Deidara shifted Sakura on his back slightly. After they had dismounted, she had crawled on his back and fallen asleep, completely exhausted. They had been traveling on top of the river for some time now and it was nearly nightfall.

"We're here," Kisame announced. Deidara looked up. There was a large red gate with seals that decorated it in front of a…A boulder. A huge boulder. Deidara eyed it doubtfully. Was the entrance behind the boulder or something? Did they want him to blow the rock up? His questions were answered when Kisame went through a series of hand seals, and watched in slight fascination as the boulder began lifting with some groans and screeches. Deidara glanced back at Sakura. Still out cold. One by one, the members entered the darkness, and after a brief moment of hesitation, Deidara stepped in as well.

…

Deidara felt a chill go down his spine as the boulder rattled shut behind him. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out the outlines of several figures, waiting. The other members.

"Itachi, Kisame, Sasori. You have successfully brought in our new member." A man with piercings acknowledged. The said members merely inclined their head or grunted before taking their places, facing Deidara. Deidara felt extremely weary. His instincts were screaming at him that these people were in a league beyond that of a jonin, and if being a ninja taught him anything, it was to trust your instincts.

"Introduce yourself." The same man commanded. All eyes were on him.

"…The name's Deidara…un." He heard one of the figures cackle.

"'Un'? The fuck is that shit? Is that some sort of fucked of Iwa thing?" Deidara shifted in irritation.

"It's my trademark you retard, un! And it isn't as fucked up as you!" Deidara retaliated. The insulted man grabbed a weapon, a scythe that was next to him.

"You want to go, girly boy?"

"I'll blow you to pieces, asshole." Deidara said through gritted teeth.

"That's enough." The pierced man said icily. "Hidan, silence."

"Screw off, bastard. I can fucking do as I please." Hidan said, but nonetheless quieted down.

"I am Pein, the leader of this organization, Akatsuki. You will address me as Leader-sama. To my right is my partner Konan, then Hidan and his partner Kakuzu, and Orochimaru and his partner Zetsu. To my left, as you may or may not know is Itachi and his partner Kisame, and Sasori, who will be your partner." Deidara almost groaned. He was stuck with the puppet bastard who had no sense of art. Sasori grunted and voiced some of his complaints: idiot, doomed to die young, hotheaded, had a horrible sense of art.

"Hah! The puppet bastard's going on about art again, Kakuzu."

"Don't bring me into your conversations you moron. I can't believe I got stuck with an idiot like you as a partner."

"Say that to my face, Kakuzu you fucker!"

"One… more." A soft voice whispered in Deidara's ear. "Dei-chan, there's one more here. He's watching, hiding." Deidara scanned the area, not even bothering with when the girl had awoken.

"Where?" He asked softly under his breath.

"Towards the back behind the red-eyed man, Dei-chan should see a large rock sticking out. On top of that rock, there's somebody there hiding in the shadows. Concealing himself so others can't see." Sakura whispered. Deidara casually glanced towards it as if he was inspecting the cave. He spotted the rock, but there was nobody there. "Be careful, Dei-chan. Sakura feels uneasy. The presence thingy, the energy, it feels weird. It's there Dei-chan, but it's not there." Deidara felt unease creep down his spine. There but not there? Not to mention that Sakura sounded incredibly unsettled. He felt some clay that she had snuck out of his pouch being shoved into palm of his hand. He gratefully took it as the mouth began chewing and molding his chakra into it, forming it into the 4-winged honing missile. Meanwhile, the argument was settling down. He released the bird.

The rest of the members were on high alert as there was a sound from the newcomer, before what seemed like a 4-winged creature flew out of the smoke that had appeared. A couple jumped away or drew their weapons as it seemed to dive at them. It headed towards Itachi, before veering upwards, then angling and plummeting towards the back of the cavern.

"Katsu!"

There was an explosion and the entire cave shook slightly and rock and debris fell from the ceiling. Orochimaru licked his lips, interested at the kekkei genkai of the newcomer.

"What the hell you fucker! You trying to bring the cave on us?! Where do you think you were even fucking aiming for?"

"It's gone." Sakura muttered in his ear. "Kage-chan can't feel it anymore either." The rest of the members were glaring at him and the leader's chakra was chilling.

"Explain." He intoned. Deidara sweated, realizing a group of criminals weren't going to believe if he said there was someone spying on them. He knew that Sakura was right, she had never let him down or had been wrong in these situations.

"Er… There was something… someone there…" The rest continued to stare at him, irritation causing there chakra to permeate the room. The leader continued to glare at hims.

"There was no one here but us. I would have sensed if there were any others with us." Pein said. Konan glanced at him briefly and he understood the unspoken message. Had the new member somehow sensed Madara? Somebody that was hard for even Pein with the Rinnengan to sense, was found out by a boy?

"Dei-chan isn't lying! There was something weird there!" Hidan choked and nearly tripped backwards and the rest of the members flinched in shock. Kisame, Itachi, and Sasori too were surprised. The girl had been with them, but somehow they had lost track of her and completely forgotten about her as she had went quiet and went to sleep. The rest of the members' heads were scanning the room for the source of the voice. Their shock was even greater when they realized there was a girl on Deidara's back. A _little girl_ on Deidara's _back_. A little, _pink_ haired girl on Deidara's back. A little, pink haired girl that they had not sensed at all until she had spoken up. Sakura nudged her knee into Deidara's side, indicating she wanted to be put down. Reluctantly he set her down and shook his arms slightly to get back some feeling into it.

Hidan cussed violently in the background, while Kisame looked amused, and Orochimaru, Deidara shivered in disgust, was looking at Sakura with an interest that made Deidara want to blow him to hell.

"Dei-chan isn't lying!"

"You… Since when were you here?" Pein asked.

"Eh? Sakura was here the whole time with Dei-chan, un!"

"Impossible." Pein said, slightly thrown off. "Sasori, explain now."

"Ah. The little girl, Sakura, was with the brat when we came to come pick him up. She refused to leave him and fought back and the brat refused to join if she wasn't allowed to stick with him."

"And why was this was not mentioned before?"

"…I am… uncertain."

"Itachi?"

"…Hn."

"Kisame."

"I'm not sure myself, I remember the squirt was here with us…" Kisame mused, ignoring the girl's voice of protest at being called 'squirt', "But I must have forgotten in between the point when we arrived near the river and when we entered the cave."

"So… Not only did you forget to mention the terms that the new member set, but also agreed with those terms and brought a child into our organization?" Pein asked with narrowed eyes.

"Ah, Leader-san! It isn't Kisame-chan's fault! Sakura is very easy to forget and nobody really notices Sakura becauses Dei-chan says that Sakura has a low presence so it's not Kisame-chan's fault- Mmpf!" Sakura was broken off as Deidara clamped his fingers over her mouth. Nope. Not good at all. Not how Sakura was supposed to be brought into this and definitely not how she was gaining the attention of all the other members.

"If I may, Leader-sama," Orochimaru spoke up, in a slightly mocking tone, "I think it would be both beneficial and interesting to allow the girl to stay. She shows some ability and should have some use." Deidara pushed Sakura back behind him while the other arm hovered over his pouch. Sakura shivered at the man's tone. The room seemed to grow darker for a split second. Deidara's eyes widened. He gripped Sakura's hand in his own.

"It wouldn't hurt to keep the child as a tool. **And if she's useless I can eat her.** " The bi-colored man spoke.

"Fuck that, did you hear? She called blondie _Dei-chan_ and the fish Kisame-'chan'." Hidan said, laughing loudly. "Hey _Dei-chan, Kisame-chan_ , do you want to have a tea party?" Deidara felt the small hand grip his own tighter. "I understand if the blondie is Dei-chan because I bet he's part girl, but Kisame, the Demon Monster of the Hidden Mist reduced to a little girl's pet. Ha-!"

"Sakura thinks that Hidan has a loud and foul mouth and should keep it shut to prevent it from polluting the air and its surroundings." Sakura said, although it lacked its previous lively energy. Kisame snickered as Hidan's face contorted in rage.

"You bit-"

"Sakura thinks Hidan is very annoying. Sakura really wants to get rid of Hidan's existence. Sakura wants to destroy Hidan." Now, Kisame was full out laughing at Hidan while Kakuzu snorted.

"Good luck with that, kid."

Something popped into the head of the Akatsuki members who had accompanied the boy and the girl from Iwa.

" _Sakura kills people, too!..._ _Sakura said Sakura kills lots of people, un! Right Dei-chan? Cause Sakura is super strong and bad masks can't beat Sakura~ "_

"Sakura-chan," Deidara said, tugging on her hand. She looked up. "You want to stay with me… right?" Sakura's eyes widened.

"Of course Sakura wants to stay with Dei-chan! Sakura wants to always stay with Dei-chan! And Sakura likes Kisame-chan too and Sakura still wants to lots of things and have lots of fun!" She said. Deidara sighed before leaning down.

"Then you have to listen an stay quiet, got it?" Sakura's eyes widened before she nodded.

While the other members were watching the odd pair, Pein and Konan stared at each other.

"It would seem a shame to tear them apart." Konan mused. "Besides… It wouldn't hurt would it… If she dies, it will be of no importance."

"I suppose it would be interesting to see how she develops and can be used in the future." Pein relented. Deidara felt a weight on his chest. Used…

Konan's own chest tightened. The way the two interacted and clung, it reminded her where back in the day, it was just her, Yahiko, and Nagato surviving through the war, having nobody to depend on but themselves… The Nagato of then wouldn't approve of using a child. Yahiko of now would never have let Nagato use a child like this. But she was merely a pillar. A pillar that supported the two bridges: Yahiko and Nagato. The pillar that will support the bridge of peace. Somebody who will support Nagato no matter what.

Sakura noticed the look on Deidara's face and smiled reassuringly. "It's alright Dei-chan. Sakura is meant to be a tool. Sakura is supposed to be used. But Sakura only promises to be a tool for Dei-chan. Sakura promises to be only be used by Dei-chan. So Dei-chan shouldn't be worried." Deidara merely sighed. A brief flash of him and Sakura at a much younger age locking pinkies flashed through his head.

"You're not… a tool." Sakura continued smiling.

* * *

A/N: I'm not sure if I should have written this scene out or if I should have just skipped straight to:

 **Deidara couldn't believe they had agreed to let Sakura stay. Sakura, on the other hand, was ecstatic and practically skipping next to him as they were led to their room.**

Right after they entered the cave or something like that and have done something else for the chapter but well yeah. I've read a lot of stories where Sakura joins along with Itachi or something and the whole 'I brought a little girl to the Akatsuki as a companion/tool' part is never shown. But yeah this chapter was kind of rushed since I didn't know what to do with it.

I think it's obvious who I'm modeling Sakura after though by now~

~Tokumei Yurei


	4. Chapter 4

To address a reviewer (thanks for asking, I completely forgot to mention it):

Ages:

Sakura- 6

Deidara- 12

Itachi- 13

 **Chapter 4:**

...

Sakura hummed happily as she skipped next to Deidara, her hand clasped in his. Now that Akatsuki had all the members they needed, they were assigned to temporary bases to take missions and gather funds. To Deidara's dismay, he was once again stuck with the red-eyed bastard and the blue freak who Sakura had seemed to take a liking to. Sasori for the most part remained quiet, and shuffled along quietly. Deidara sighed. Of course, now he was part of this crappy organization. Still, the long dark cloak and ring felt strange on him. Sakura abruptly let go of his hand and bounded over to Kisame. Deidara opened his mouth to call her back before closing it. It wouldn't hurt to let her spread her wings a little.

"Kisame-chan!"

Deidara took great pleasure as he watched the Mist-nin jump slightly and the Uchiha flinch subtly. Itachi observed the pink haired child as she began somewhat of a one-sided conversation with Kisame who listened on with amusement. He had noticed it before at the temple, back at the cave, and just now too. The girl had no presence or close to no presence. Her chakra seemed nonexistant and what chakra was there felt... It was certainly not any type of chakra that any human had. The reports from Zetsu on the terrorist bomber never mentioned her either. He blinked as he caught the girl staring back at him.

"Ano... Stranger-san's name is Itachi right?" Itachi simply nodded. "Sakura's name is Sakura, un! Will Itachi be Sakura's friend? Sakura wants to make lots of friends because Kuro-nee said that it's impow-... im-por-tant to have a... social life? I don't know what social life thingy is but Sakura will get it so she can share it with Dei-chan because Kuro-nee keeps on making fun of Dei-chan for not having one. So Sakura will make lots of friends! Kisame-chan says that Kisame-chan is a super cool, awesome demon! What is Itachi? Is Itachi a weasel, or is Itachi a super cool demon too?" Sakura said practically bubbling with energy. Itachi was painfully reminded of a young Sasuke who would chatter on and on in a similar manner.

"I am neither a weasel or human. And Kisame is not a demon. We are all human. Nobody knows what _kind_ of human they are until the end, though." Sakura cocked her head slightly. Kisame raised an eyebrow as he heard his partner repeat the words of their first encounter.

"Even Sakura?"

"Hai." The small pink haired girl stared at Itachi with a blank look. It slowly morphed into an upset frown.

"Sakura isn't human. Sakura doesn't want to be human!" With that, she ditched them both and ran up to Deidara leaving the two missing-nin confused at the change in her behavior. She jumped onto his back and buried her face into his neck. Deidara was startled, although he was much more used to it then others.

"Hey Sakura-chan, what's wrong, un?" Deidara asked as he shifted her so she wouldn't fall.

"Sakura isn't human. Sakura isn't human. Sakura isn't human. Right Dei-chan? Sakura is a good girl, a good girl, a good kage. Sakura, Sakura, Sakura," The small girl repeated, burrowing her head further into his back as her breaths grew shallow. Deidara quickly shushed her before she completely lost it.

"Sakura's a good girl." Deidara reassured her. "Sakura is Dei-chan's most precious kage." Slowly, Sakura's mutters died out and she fell limp on his back. Deidara turned to glare at the two behind him. Kisame look confused while the Uchiha-teme remained impassive.

* * *

When they had stopped to camp for the night, Sakura had woken up again, and she was in a horrible mood. She stomped away from the group mumbling darkly.

"Oi. You not going after the kid?" Kisame asked when Deidara made no move to chase after the girl.

" It's best to leave her when she's like this. Sakura-chan never strays far and always returns within 5 minutes. There's nothing dangerous in the immediate surroundings so she should be fine. If there is anything, she'll get rid of it." Deidara answered, staring into the fire absently. Kisame raised an eyebrow but continued to settle against the base of the tree. The rations were eaten silently. Sure enough, Sakura returned, a dead snake in hand. She threw it into the fire, growling, then lay down next to Deidara and curled into his side.

"Sakura-chan, what's with the snake, un?"

"Creepy snake, bad snake. Kage-chan said it was bad, bad, bad." Sakura mumbled from her position. "Bad snake following group. Bad snake tried to bite Sakura. So Sakura killed it. Bad snake is dead, dead, dead." Deidara inwardly groaned as Sakura's speech pattern shifted, although the news that a snake was following them put him on alert. Sasori hissed.

"Orochimaru. That snake can't mind his own business."

"Creepy bastard." Kisame put in. Itachi stayed silent before standing up.

"I will take first watch. Kisame, you take second, Sasori, then Deidara." The members grunted their assent and Itachi disappeared.

* * *

The base, was nothing special. It was a ruined, old building if anything. The building just served for them to receive missions while they would spend nights either camping or in inns. Once they walked in, Sakura, who had regained her cheerful demeanor, went off to explore the small building. A few minutes later, an apparition of the leader appeared.

"Good. You have arrived on time. I have two missions. One is an escort mission for a noble in the Land of Bears. Itachi, Kisame. You will take this one. The other is a delivery. The client requests the safe delivery of an item from the Land of Tea to the Land of Swamps. Sasori, Deidara. This will be yours. Deidara listened in as the Leader filled them in on the exact detail of their missions.

"I expect no failure." With that, the Leader disappeared.

"An escort mission, how tedious." Kisame grumbled.

"Dei-chan, look what Sakura found!" The present members were startled as the pink haired girl seemed to appear out of nowhere. Sakura shoved the squirming squirrel up to Deidara's face eagerly. "Dei-chan, can Sakura keep it? Sakura will take really good care of it, and feed it, and wash it everyday! Pleeeeease?" Sakura begged.

"Er... Sakura-chan..."

"Say yes, brat, and I will give you a slow and painful death." Sasori said. He already had to deal with the brat and his tag along, there was no way he was putting up with some wild animal too. Sakura immediately panicked and dropped the squirrel. It darted away and Sakura pouted. Deidara ruffled her hair. He spoke in a quiet voice that the others wouldn't hear.

"If you get a pet, Kage-chan will get jealous." Sakura's eyes widened in understanding before nodding earnestly.

"Sakura doesn't need any pets then." She said determinedly. Deidara smiled. She was just too cute. He offered her hand as he headed out of the building after Sasori who had left. Sakura rushed to grab it, only looking back to wave at Kisame and Itachi.

Kisame smirked while Itachi ignored her.

"Come, Kisame. We don't want to be late."

* * *

 **A/N:** Holy crap! It's been nearly a month since I've updated I'm so sorry! This chapter's pretty short and nothing's really happening (it's rushed, sorry but I wanted to get one out for Christmas at least). I had to erase everything I wrote before since I'm trying to keep it as realistic as possible. I believe in the actual anime, Akatsuki tend to move around a lot. However, a lot of other stories portray that the have many different furnished bases around the nations. I'm not sure which is really a better option. Based on this chapter,  please tell me if you would like where they travel around a lot, or have bases like the other stories. Who knows, I might rewrite this chapter. Anyway, Merry Christmas guys!

So tell me if you liked it or disliked it, any feedback is appreciated!

~Tokumei Yurei


	5. NOT UPDATE

...

 **SORRY!**

 **THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE. Let me go ahead and say that. So, yes, I know it's been a long time since I updated, but life happened so yeah. I have reread my stories, and, well, I cringed. I've also been thinking about ways the story could have gone (cause I'm kind of stuck...), and I ended up deciding I really dislike how I've written it. I intend to rewrite both Team 7's Sensei and Akatsuki's Shadow. Both will have the same concept but both story line's are going to take some major reconstruction including the titles (probably). I am so sorry to all those who have been reading so far and I intend to make it even better this time around to make up for it. Of course 'Sakura will be Sakura' since I find her adorable to write along with the positive feedback I've gotten on it. Again, I apologize to the people who have been reading so far, and I will do my best to have the first chapters written up as soon as possible. And if you bothered to read this (because god knows we all hate updates that turn out to be some message from the author instead of a chapter), you are free to rage on how horrible of a person I am to do this.**

 **~Tokumei Yurei**


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